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  Aquaculture deviceRelated Patent Categories: Animal Husbandry, Aquatic Animal Culturing, Mollusk Culturing, Spawning, Hatching, And Larval Development, Spat Collector (cultch)The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070028849. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a device for use in the aquaculture farming industry, and relates particularly, though not exclusively, to a device which can be readily attached to suspended growing lines for aquatic farming of molluscs. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] With increased demand for high quality produce, the aquaculture farming industry has developed smarter and more reliable techniques for culturing and harvesting marine life. Mussels, like other marine life, were historically harvested from the wild. However, as stocks have diminished, new methods of farming mussels have evolved. A common mussel farming method now in vogue utilises growing lines, such as ropes, nets, or the like, which are suspended below the surface of the water in order to collect seed mussels, which attach themselves to the lines in order to grow. After some time seed mussels collect on these lines in dense clusters, in fact at a density which is too large to allow the mussels to mature properly. At this point a mussel farmer may withdraw the lines from the water for harvesting and may then separate, de-clump, grade and inject the immature mussels into a mesh sock, net or the like which can sometimes surround a growing line. This process facilitates mussel attachment at a more appropriate density to assist the growth of mussels when they are re-introduced into the water. The mesh sock, which is usually perishable, provides a greater surface area for the mussels to attach to as they grow. Over time mussels grow radially outwardly through the mesh sock, to a size which can be several inches long. [0003] As mussels increase in size, those closest to the growing line rely on support from the growing line itself, by attaching themselves thereto, whilst those disposed radially outwardly thereof rely on attachment to other mussels below them for support. If a mesh sock is utilised, mussels in the vicinity thereof can rely on this sock for support. If the sock is perishable, mussels can only initially rely on the sock for support After the sock disintegrates, mussels in that vicinity can only rely on support from those mussels beneath them. It is at this point that the entire mussel crop is reliant on the foothold of those mussels (the supporting mussels) that have directly attached themselves to the growing line. The number of mussels that can actually attach themselves directly to a growing line is dependant on the diameter or surface area of the growing line itself. It thus becomes evident that, as mussels grow and hence weight increases, if supporting mussels lose their foothold significant losses of crop can occur as large clusters of mussels fall away from the growing line. [0004] Furthermore, as heavily laden mussel growing lines are immersed in water, the water itself serves to create a buoyancy effect for the mussels that are attached to the growing lines. However during harvest the mussel growing lines are lifted out of the water, meaning this buoyancy effect is lost. This loss of buoyancy means additional weight needs to be supported, and can result in a significant increase in the losses associated with mussels falling away from the lines. [0005] Losses associated with mussels peeling off or falling away from growing lines will hereinafter generally be referred to as the "slide off effect". [0006] To minimise losses associated with the slide off effect many methods have been employed in the past. One such method has been to provide additional support to mussels on a growing line, through the insertion of a series of skewers or rods. These skewers, usually wooden, are inserted at spaced intervals through the perishable net, between the mussels and through the growing line (which provides the secure attachment). This results in a protrusion extending horizontally from either side of the vertically suspended growing line. These protrusions assist in supporting mussels from slide off by providing a greater attachment area for the mussels, being supported directly in the vicinity of the skewers. [0007] Although widely adopted by mollusc farmers, the skewer method is generally considered to only provide marginal improvement in terms of reduction of the slide off effect. The following is a discussion of the limitations of the skewer method considered most relevant to the present invention. [0008] A skewer tip is required to be sharp prior to insertion to facilitate ease of application through a growing line. Skewers are not normally re-usable, because tips become blunt after insertion. Plastics material skewers are rarely used as their tips become blunt far easier than alternatives. Traditionally, wooden skewers are used and are considered throw-away items after use. A problem with wooden skewers is that, over time and when immersed in water, they tend to become soft due to water absorption and decay and are prone to fail (break) when their effectiveness is most required (at or just prior to harvest). [0009] As skewers are required to traverse a growing line to facilitate secure attachment thereto, traditionally skewers have only been "pencil-like" in design. This design requirement has meant that the skewers which have been utilised are only able to provide limited additional surface area support for the mussels. A preferred flat design skewer has not readily been used due to the difficulty involved in inserting the same through a growing line. To compensate for the lack of surface area provided by a single skewer, previous attempts have included the introduction of a number of skewers placed radially around the growing line, an inch or so apart, at sections along the growing line. This process has proven successful, however the application of multiple skewers in a small area is a tedious, costly and time-consuming exercise and as such has not been widely adopted. [0010] A method for compensating for the lack of additional support area provided by a single skewer is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,116, of Jefferds, Ian W. This method utilises a planar support plate or disc which is adapted to provide a large horizontal support surface for mussels when attached to a growing line. These plates or discs have a slot for receiving a growing line and a skewer-like projection attached thereto, projecting into and parallel with the slot, to be inserted through the growing line to facilitate attachment thereto. Essentially these plates rely on known skewer principles, in that they utilise a skewer for attachment to a growing line and, as such, suffer from the same inherent problems associated with insertion of a skewer through a growing line. Where these plates differ from the traditional skewer is that the additional support is provided by way of a plate making up one of the horizontal protrusions, instead of both protrusions simply being respective protruding sides of a skewer. [0011] A further problem associated with the skewer method is that the nature of the insertion of a skewer to a growing line does not lend itself to automation of the application process. In cases where a mesh sock is used in combination with a growing rope, a person attempting to locate a skewer is required to find an encased, sometimes visually hidden and, more often than not, growing rope that is not centrally located within the sock. The skewer then needs to be inserted through the rope, preferably substantially centrally and horizontally to the rope. This task is usually performed manually and the aim of central and horizontal insertion is not always easy to achieve. [0012] Further still, mussel growing lines themselves usually need to be specifically designed so as to facilitate manual insertion of the skewers which have been chosen for a particular application. The need for purpose-designed growing lines can increase costs associated with any harvesting operation. [0013] Another problem associated with the skewer method, or devices which utilise a skewer for attachment to a growing line, such as Jefferds, is that, due to the design of a skewer, when it is inserted through a growing line it tends to rotate within the growing line itself. In the context of a skewer providing support on its own, or in combination with a number of skewers inserted in cooperation with one another, this rotation can itself induce the slide off effect. If a number of mussels attach themselves to a skewer on an upper surface and/or outwardly therefrom, the skewer may rotate to a point where the mussels are hanging down. If a cluster of mussels now hanging down is of sufficient weight, supporting mussels may not be able to maintain attachment of clusters to the growing line, causing those mussels to dislodge and become lost. The rotation of a skewer negates the usefulness of applying encompassing support plates or discs to the skewer protrusions (Jefferds). Since even weight distribution on the plates cannot be guaranteed, uneven weight accumulation on the encompassing plates or the like can induce crop loss rather than prevent loss. Furthermore, slight weight distribution problems on one plate can have a catastrophic effect on other plates, resulting in mussels sliding off the growing line, particularly as it is being raised for harvesting, [0014] Despite the aforementioned limitations, a major attraction to mollusc farmers with regard to using a skewer is the ease with which a skewer can be removed from a growing line after a crop has been harvested. This is said to be an important requirement to the aquaculture farmer of any support attachment means. The conventional skewer achieves relatively easy detachment since, when a skewer is pulled out of a growing line, any marine growth attached to the protrusion of the skewer that is being drawn through the growing line for removal becomes detached by the application of removal force to the skewer. The growing line serves as a resistance to any marine growth during this action and simply strips marine life off the surface of the skewer as it is withdrawn through the hole in the growing line. If marine growth attachment is too firm for dislodgment a skewer can simply be broken off at the growing line, in turn permitting removal without hindrance. However, if barbs or the like are provided on plate type support structures utilising skewer-like projections, as in the Jefferds patent, the benefit of simplistic detachment is lost. [0015] An alternate method of attaching plate-like support structures to growing lines is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,523, of Gagnon, Gilles. Instead of using a skewer-like projection for attachment, as is the case in the Jefferds patent, this patent provides a device which utilises a clip arranged within an aperture, at the centre of the device, to facilitate attachment of the device to a growing line. This clip is cylindrical in shape and, in use, has a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the growing line for gripping the latter when attached thereto. The clip has an opening bordered by outwardly diverging, resilient arms. During insertion of a growing line the arms flex outwardly into generally V-shaped recesses and return to the rest position in which the rope is clamped in the clip. This device overcomes the problems associated with having to skewer a growing line, and instead proposes the use of a clip that resiliently clamps around the circumference of a growing line to provide attachment. The design of the clip is such that mussels have to be first parted or removed from the growing line in order to affix the device to an exposed section thereon. If the clip is not secured around an unhindered line attachment cannot occur, since the diameter of the clip is smaller than the growing line. Thus, if marine life is present in the area of the clip, the device will not be able to maintain secure attachment. Although it may be said that the initial attachment to the growing line may be simplified (as compared with the skewer method) by the clip arrangement, it is doubtful whether the resilient clip will provide sufficient secure attachment to the growing line as weight increases on the support plate. It is believed that the support plate will slide down the growing line within the clip as mussel weight increases with growth on the device. Furthermore, when marine growth occurs in a critical area of the clip attachment means, specifically around the resilient arms, it is believed that over time the weight of growth could render the attachment means ineffective by inducing release of the clamping force provided by the clip on the growing line. Growth in the area of the clip of this device may also render detachment of the device difficult or tedious to achieve. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0016] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an aquaculture device having improved attachment means to facilitate relatively simple attachment of the aquaculture device to a growing line. [0017] A further object of the present invention is to provide an aquaculture device having improved attachment means which overcomes one or more of the limitations described above relating to the conventional skewer attachment means and/or those of the prior art. [0018] According to the present invention there is provided an aquaculture device including a body, said body having at least one inwardly tapered slot for receiving at least one elongate support means, whereby said at least one elongate support means is adapted to be inserted through said body into said at least one inwardly tapered slot and, in use, to be wedged between opposed sides of said at least one inwardly tapered slot in order to attach said aquaculture device at a predetermined location on said at least one elongate support means. [0019] Preferably said at least one elongate support means is selected from one or more of the following: any suitable growing rope, any suitable growing rope that is socked with a suitable mesh net and/or any suitable sock-like mesh net. [0020] It is also preferred that said opposed sides of said at least one inwardly tapered slot are at least initially narrow in width so as to provide a means, in use, for slicing or parting any marine growth present in the vicinity of an attachment area on said at least one elongate support means. Similarly it is also preferred that said at least one inwardly tapered slot is suitably shaped such that, in use applications where said at least one elongate support means is embodied as a growing rope that is socked with a mesh net, said at least one inwardly tapered slot can simultaneously compress said mesh net, separate any marine life present in the attachment area and locate said growing rope within said net in order to facilitate attachment thereto. [0021] It is further preferred that said body of said aquaculture device has a configuration, or is further attached to an additional body that has a configuration, selected from one or more of the following group: a planar support plate, a disc-shaped support plate, a support structure incorporating a series of protrusions, a support structure incorporating a ring-like support area, a cage-like structure, and/or any suitable combination thereof. Continue reading... Full patent description for Aquaculture device Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Aquaculture device patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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